Tensions up, risk appetite down

<p>Kia ora,</p><p>Welcome to Monday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.</p><p>I'm David Chaston and this is the International edition from Interest.co.nz.</p><p>Today we lead with news various crises got worse, including Ukraine and the Chinese property sector.</p><p>China’s property developers started 2022 with weak sales, as many real-estate companies struggled to rekindle interest from home buyers despite Beijing’s recent attempts to ease some restrictions on the troubled sector. January contracted sales reports released in recent days by more than a dozen Chinese developers showed year-over-year declines ranging from about 10% to more than 80% for some companies. They also reflected price reductions by industry heavyweights such as Country Garden Holdings and Sunac.</p><p>And <a href="http://www.zhenrodc.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Zhenro Property Group</strong></a>, one of the few large property developers thought to be in ok shape has succumbed to the same liquidity stresses that have befallen its peers. After<strong> </strong><a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2022/0215/2022021500908.pdf" target="_blank"><strong>calling</strong></a> news reports about the company "untrue and fictitious", it has had to <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2022/0218/2022021800863.pdf" target="_blank"><strong>admit</strong></a> that "existing internal resources may be insufficient to address its upcoming debt maturities in March". The train-wreck that is China's property development sector rolls on.</p><p>And staying in China, <a href="http://www.caam.org.cn/" target="_blank"><strong>total vehicle sales</strong></a> fell to a 25.3 mln annual rate, down from a 27.9 mln sales rate in December. </p><p>Hong Kong's city-wide lockdown to test for COVID is the last straw for many expats there and an exodus is underway. </p><p><a href="https://www.stat.go.jp/data/cpi/sokuhou/tsuki/index-z.html" target="_blank"><strong>Japanese